WWE exclusive: Daniel Bryan calls on Royal Rumble fans to be 'hot' for him

Daniel Bryan hopes WWE fans at the Royal Rumble will be as “hot” for him as they were during last year’s show when they chanted his name throughout the super-show – and he wasn’t even part of the main event.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, the 33-year-old superstar – who has vowed to win the over-the-top-rope 30-man battle royal – shrugged off any concerns he would be overwhelmed by a similarly boisterous atmosphere, insisting he would rise to the occasion.

“To be honest, I don't feel any pressure like that,” he said.

“I'm pretty confident to go out there and do what I've got to do.

“What's interesting to me to see if the crowd stays as hot for me as last year, that was pretty intense. I'm hoping that they do.”

Despite making his return to action only last week after a near eight month lay off following neck surgery, Bryan admits he is pleased with how his body is coping with being back in the ring.

“To be honest, I had my first two matches last week and when I got home my body felt horrible,” Bryan revealed.

“Your body adapts to pretty much anything but when you're not used to wrestling it's very physically tough, not to mention the travel.

“Last week I did three live events, then Raw and then SmackDown so when I got home on Wednesday my body was feeling pretty beat up.

“Yesterday it was back to being good, I'm back to feeling mobile and my neck feels really strong - yeah, it feels good!”

Listed by the bookies as the second favourite for this weekend’s Rumble match, Bryan has already sized up the competition. When asked who he perceives as the greatest threats to him coming out the winner, he diplomatically identifies the bout’s favourite as his number one rival.

He said: “To me, someone like Roman Reigns is going to be a big rival in the Royal Rumble.

“All of the big guys are big threats - like Rusev, pretty much undefeated over the last year.

“Even guys like Dean Ambrose, and Dolph Ziggler will be in, too. So there's lots of competition this year.”

And, ever the fan himself, the former WWE World Heavyweight champs confesses to recently drawing upon one of his most treasured Rumble memories for inspiration on the WWE Network.

“One of my favourites was 1996, when Shawn Michaels won the Royal Rumble [for a second time],” he added.

“I was a huge Shawn Michaels fan at the time, as part of the lead in to the Iron Man match with Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 12. That was pretty awesome.”

Subscribe to the WWE Network for just £9.99 a month to watch the Royal Rumble live at no additional cost on Sunday night, January 25th at 1am. You can also see the Royal Rumble live on Sky Sports Box Office